Modern vehicle body structures are increasingly utilizing hot stamping to form complex part geometries and to achieve ultra-high strength steel (DHSS) properties. Utilizing DHSS presents challenges for trimming and piercing operations relating to severe wear and sometimes unexpected failure in trimming and piercing tools. Trimming is an operation in which unwanted portions of a blank or vehicle component are cut off to achieve a final vehicle component shape. Piercing is a shearing operation used to create openings or holes in a blank or vehicle component.
Traditional die trimming operations for DHSS vehicle components may create micro-cracks and other quality problems in trimmed edges or pierced openings of the vehicle component. Issues with traditional die trimming operations led to a use of laser trimming. Prior art manufacturing processes use laser trimming after stamping and die quenching operations. The use of a laser trim apparatus requires higher capital investment and a larger space in comparison to traditional die trimming and piercing stations. For example, a laser trimming process may amount to 20% to 50% of a total cost to manufacture a hot stamped vehicle component.
This disclosure is related to solving the above problems and other problems summarized below.